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Missouri S&T cheerleaders had lots of touchdowns to cheer about in the Miners’ 65-24 win over Southwest Baptist. From left, are Abigail McKee, Hailey Adams, Grace Wallick and Rebecca Settles.
Offensive lineman Tristan Valle, a 285-pound out of Bishop, Calif., lifts senior receiver C.J Wiggins of Yuma, Ariz., in celebration after a 50-yard touchdown reception by Wiggins.
Missouri S&T cheerleaders had lots of touchdowns to cheer about in the Miners’ 65-24 win over Southwest Baptist. From left, are Abigail McKee, Hailey Adams, Grace Wallick and Rebecca Settles.
As I walked from the parking lot to the pass gate, the smell of something on the grill was delightful. Grilling and tailgating are a big part of college football. There were also the hum of a generator, and the closer I got to the stadium, music on the sound system got louder.
The players warming up on the turf field appeared to like the music, as they hip-hop danced to the beat.
It was a beautiful early October evening for football. Mid 70s, clear skies, brisk breeze out of the south, kids tossing and catching little footballs on the well-manicured, green grass of the hill beside the west stands.
It’s now 5:30 p.m.
Kickoff is at 6 p.m. The band is warming up in the shade of the visitors stands on the east side of the stadium. A guy tells me the band has never been bigger. The aroma of something on the grill gets a little stronger. That night’s chain gang tosses a football around on the sideline. Tents along the south side of the stadium are full of football fans doing what they do to get ready for kickoff.
It’s 5:53 p.m.
One of my favorite times on a high school Friday, a college Saturday or an NFL Sunday is when the home team runs out on the field to the roar of the crowd. Expectations and spirits are high and so is the adrenaline. I have been on the field when LSU takes the field at Tiger Stadium. I’ve been between the hedges at Georgia and in the Swamp in Gainesville. It never gets old.
On this particular October Saturday, I was at Allgood-Bailey Stadium in Rolla to watch Missouri S&T’s Miners play host to Southwest Baptist University. College football close to home. The hosts did not disappoint, as they pummeled SBU 65-24, scoring 44 points in the second half, 34 in the third quarter alone. Sophomore quarterback Tyler Gioia hit 21 of 30 passes for 372 yards and four touchdowns, as C.J. Wiggins and Gideon Niboh caught four each for a combined 247 yards. The ROTC canon sounded loudly and often, and the cheerleaders had plenty to cheer about.
Offensive lineman Tristan Valle, a 285-pound out of Bishop, Calif., lifts senior receiver C.J Wiggins of Yuma, Ariz., in celebration after a 50-yard touchdown reception by Wiggins.
Photo by Lori Lunceford
It looked, sounded and smelled like college football. Division II, like the big college boys, has instant replay for the officials. Upon further review, that’s been a good thing for football.
When it comes to college football, a lot of people in and adjacent to Phelps County don’t realize how entertaining and how good the quality of Division II football is at Missouri S&T and in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). That goes for S&T’s other sports, too.
Point is, if you like college football, when it comes to the Miners, if you haven’t been to a game you don’t know what you are missing.
Joe Miner is visible at many Missouri S&T functions and doesn’t miss a Miner football game.
Photo by Donald Dodd
With the proliferation of college football on television every Saturday, S&T has a lot of competition. A crowd of 2,446 showed up for the SBU game in the 8,000-seat stadium. That same night lots of you football fans were glued to your television watching Vanderbilt upset Alabama 40-35.
Hey. There is still some college football around not ravaged by NIL money and the transfer portal. Give S&T a shot. It’s more like college football the way college football used to be. They don’t come to S&T for big football money, they come for big educational opportunity.
That’s not to say the talent isn’t there, or not fun to watch. A few years ago you could have watched Tershawn Wharton out of University City, now a regular at defensive tackle for the Super Bowl champ Kansas City Chiefs, as an All-America player at Missouri S&T. Wharton is likely the best player to ever play at S&T as far as NFL caliber, but there are a lot of really good players S&T and GLVC rosters. All-SEC running back Cody Schrader of Mizzou transferred there from Division II Truman State, where in 2021 he ran for a career high 278 yards against Missouri S&T.
Zach Zebrowski, a quarterback at Central Missouri, is the reigning Harlon Hill winner, which is awarded to Division II’s top player. Last season he threw for 5,157 yards and 61 touchdowns. Through six games this year he has thrown for 2,540 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Will Zebrowski, like Wharton, be the next D-II player to make a name for himself in the NFL?
There were 46 former D-II players that made opening-day NFL rosters this season, including a wide receiver named Tyreek Hill, who played at West Alabama. You might remember him from his Chiefs days.
Missouri S&T won’t put a Wharton in the NFL every year, but they will always have talent that will surprise you, entertain you. For instance, there is sophomore running back A.J. Harris from Wentzville. He was a national four-star recruit while playing at Lutheran St. Charles High School, where he had 6,090 career total yards with 110 touchdowns. He signed with Stanford, then transferred to Iowa State, then S&T. His dad, Arlen Sr., was an NFL running back for four seasons with the St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions from 2003-06.
Missouri S&T has had some banner seasons. In 2018, the Miners finished 10-2 and won the Mineral Water Bowl. From 1977-85, the University of Missouri-Rolla (now S&T) had the best winning percentage of all Missouri college football teams.
By now you get the picture that when it comes to talent in Division II and at Missouri S&T, it’s football worth watching.
But there is more to it. Going to a Miner football game gives you much of the same hype and atmosphere as any college game, though on a smaller scale.
Missouri S&T’s dance team entertains during halftime at home games. From left, Madyson Jones and Lexi Kreicbergs. In back, Isabella Bosch.
Photo by Lori Lunceford
Nothing would be better for area college football fans than to see the kind of public support for Missouri S&T that could translate into success on and off the field. One is dependent on the other.
The Miners recruit like everyone else, and though the quality of the education received at S&T is second to none, it sure would help in recruiting to see a packed out Allgood-Bailey Stadium to show off to recruits.
Anyway, point is, we have some good local college football to watch right now that some of you might not be aware of. Admittedly, I am a college football fan who would love to see the kind of support it would take to lift Missouri S&T to another level when it comes to Division II football.
Next time the college football TV schedule is a little light, or you just want to see first-hand what I am writing about, go to a Missouri S&T football game. You have a chance this Saturday because not only are the Miners at home, but it’s also homecoming with all the pomp and circumstance and something on the grill smelling delightful. Kickoff is 1 p.m. against Lincoln.
